'And this is how it starts... '
Sex - the 1975
She sat quietly on her high chair behind her canvas, staring at the naked man in front of her. Nina wanted to find something she could accentuate, something rare and intriguing. Sadly, the man was just an ordinary model with nothing worth telling, no individuality. His toned biceps were too ripped and his romp wasn't long enough, making the man fail at having those mouthwatering lean hips.
How could people who studied Art, ergo studied beauty in particular, create good work if they had to work with models who weren't even symmetrically built?
It was a worthless task, Nina concluded.
She gazed at her left side and noticed a vacant spot. She wondered who was missing today, but felt too lazy to actually count and rule out all the students who didn't bother to attend class. If only she could skip class like they did just this once, then she could finally catch up on some much needed sleep instead of finishing this ridiculous task.
Her mother, who was going through a rather heavy midlife-crisis, had kept Nina awake for several weeks. If it wasn't the loud late night phone calls with her best friend Maura, it was the crying. Yes, it was one of those crises where her mother claimed she finally could experience freedom after deciding to call her marriage quit. She was still very much in love with a charming and rather handsome Frenchman, Nina's father. But of course, being the woman her mother was, she didn't want to admit it to herself.
Nina's train of thoughts was interrupted by a loud clearing of a voice. She looked at her right and saw professor Bates standing with her arms crossed and staring at her blank canvas.
"Why haven't you drawn anything yet, Nina?" She asked with a surprisingly sweet voice.
Nina had been a student of the older woman for nearly two years now and never did Bates cease to amaze Nina with her knowledge of beauty and art. She stimulated and supported the girl's dream of studying in Paris next year. Yet there was only one thing still lacking. And Bates reminded her of it every single lesson until Nina's ears bled.
A lack of showing passion through her work.
"I can't find the right inspiration, professor. There's nothing special about this model." Mrs. Bates lifted her brows at the outspoken opinion of the young student she deeply cared for.
"Well try harder, Nina, I will be expecting at least a dot on that canvas." Nina smiled at her words and nodded.
At that moment, the door swung open and through the doorway appeared a young man with long, curly hair and striking green eyes. He scanned the room quickly, looking for an empty spot. Once he had found one, he headed over to it and cursed lowly once he spotted the professor standing right next to him, talking to a girl with blond hair and dark brown eyes.
"It's such a pleasure to finally honour us all with your presence, Mr Styles." Bates turned around and made her stereotypical movement, the infamous eyebrow lift.
"The pleasure is all mine." He cheekily said with a smirk.
Harry unpacked all his necessary belongings and looked at the model. He wondered why on earth Mrs Bates chose such an ordinary and impersonal guy, even he himself would be more interesting than the guy sitting in front of him - buck naked. He swiftly gazed at the girl next to him who was looking at the model the same way he was. Uninterested and unimpressed, which made him smile. At least there was still one girl in this classroom who had some taste in men and wasn't just staring and drooling.
Being interested in art and beauty, especially beauty in its most feminine forms, the young male couldn't help but carefully study the girl next to him, even if he could only vaguely see her profile due to the distance between them. He concluded it was a very classic, even timeless one. A straight nose and a fore head that wasn't too high. He chuckled at her tongue which was lightly pulled out of her mouth in concentration. Yet, he noticed something familiar whenever he secretively gazed at her. Everything became clear why he had this nagging feeling of familiarity when he could finally catch a glimpse of her face.
Nina StPierre.
The first thing that popped into his mind was even though he secretly could never get enough of Nina during secondary school, she had never been very much loved or liked amongst most of the other boys. To him, she was the outsider with the pretty face, yet for everyone else she was just the chubby art geek.
The only conclusion Harry could make, was that puberty hit Nina well. Not only was her petite body now absolutely banging, she still had those intriguing dark eyes he had always found incredibly fascinating. Her aura showed a sense of pride and poise which over time became more refined. She was confident, radiant, yet quiet and mysterious. She had the most gorgeous smile with straight, white teeth. Her hair fell around her perfect structured face like a golden halo. If only he could draw her instead of the tosser in front of him.
At the age of, say, fourteen, to some kids, being popular at school was everything. There was nothing more important than looking good in a cheap school uniform and having girls drool all over you. To become a popular teen, you had to follow certain social rules. One of them being to never interact with the geeks.
Harry was one of those kids, the popular kind.
Looking back at it now, he knew it was absolutely pathetic. But back then, he didn't care, he was having too much fun. The only times he did care, however, was whenever he saw Nina StPierre walking down the street or corridor. At those rare moments, he questioned the existence of the popular kind and asked himself why he couldn't just go up and talk to her like he frequently had done in his most intimate dreams.
Nina felt a steady stare on the left side of her face. It made her feel uncomfortable. She had never been used to attention and had always kept herself in the back. She was confident but only at first sight.
She looked at her left and saw none other than Harry Styles keeping his emerald eyes fixed on her. She wondered what his problem was, but said nothing. He had always possessed the annoying talent of catching her attention wherever he was. Whenever he would walk into a room, she would notice. Whenever he would speak, she would recognise his deep voice. Whenever he would tell some silly joke, she would have to resist the urge to laugh.
For now, she simply lifted her eyebrows and turned back to her work
•|•
Once the lesson was over, Harry started packing up his things. He was ready to leave the room until a certain blonde caught his attention for the second time today. He noticed that even her clothes were to his liking, which was a rare thing. Girls nowadays had the inexplicable need to wear leggings and crop tops, ultimately showing off as much skin as possible, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Harry definitely didn't like that.
Nina wore a black long sleeved T-shirt, a dark grey leather jacket and black skinny jeans which made her bump look firm, yet not too perky. He could see her legs were short but nicely built. Puberty had hit her very well indeed.
"Long time no see, love." He said while deepening his voice on purpose, he knew girls liked when he did that. He chuckled once he saw her cute frame jump softly in surprise and turn around, only to quickly take a step back, not expecting someone of his size to stand close behind her.
"I thought you still felt too cool to come up and say hello." Nina answered and referred to her previous outsider-status with a smirk of her own, which caught Harry by surprise. He never expected her to do such a thing.
"I was a dickhead back then. But hey," He said while raising his hands with a new found enthusiasm, mainly because the two were finally having a conversation after all these years, "I changed a lot over time, so...no more dickhead."
"Well I heard you didn't change that much." She said with a lifted brow.
Even though Harry changed from popular dick to caring hipster, his reputation as a bit of a ladies man didn't alter. Yet Harry didn't notice any judgement in her tone, which he appreciated and somehow admired. Another thing which surprised him however, was her voice. It had gotten a tad bit lower and a tad bit huskier, making it sound smooth and sexy.
"I don't know what to say to that." Harry honestly answered.
"Nothing." She simply replied, giving him a lopsided smile. Harry couldn't keep his eyes off of it.
"Do you want to get a drink later? Say at nine?" He suddenly asked out of the blue. There was a silence between the two art-lovers and Harry could only hope it was a good sign.
"No."
It wasn't however.
"I haven't slept well in days and could really use some extra resting time." She further explained when she noticed the smallest amount of disappointment on Harry's features.
"Some other time, yeah?" Nina added, to soften the blow. She was being partly honest. She really was too tired to go anywhere tonight. But she had no intentions of having 'a drink' or getting involved with anyone, least of all Harry Styles. She knew better than that.
"Very well then, some other time." Harry nodded.
•|•
Nina could kill her best and only friend right now. She was sitting on a bar chair in a pub where many students spend their free time at. She wanted to get a good night sleep, but of course Niall had to be a pain in the arse and drag her with him for moral support.
It was football night. It was Chelsea night.
She sat there, gazing at her half empty whiskey glass which she had ordered at their arrival, half an hour ago. Ten minutes into the game and she was already bored out of her mind, fighting her eyes to keep them open. The drink wasn't helping either. Niall was screaming profanities at the other team along with his friends from the medicine department.
"God, Nina, did you see that?" Niall asked with way too much enthusiasm, eyes locked on the little telly hanging in the corner of the pub behind the counter.
"Absolutely." Nina answered without any interest, still staring at her drink as if it was the most fascinating thing on earth.
"God, Hazard is giving it his best. That dribble was phenomenal!" He admired the overpaid footballer with his big baby blue eyes.
"I completely agree, Nialler. Very well done indeed." She responded while taking a big swing of her drink.
Niall looked over his shoulder at his blonde friend and rolled his eyes when he realised she was playing another one of her sarcastic tricks on him. His attention was caught soon after by a loud scream and locked his eyes once more on the screen. The opposing team had scored. Bugger.
"Way to go West Ham!"
Niall quickly turned his head, seeking out the traitor who was cheering for the enemy, in the now silent pub. He readied himself to give that person hell. He found Nina grinning at her drink and taking another sip, feeling proud and satisfied with her so-called joke. She was rewarded with a slap on the back of the head from Niall before he left her on her own. The golden haired girl scoffed and ordered another Glenfiddish once her first one was empty. She didn't want to be here in the first place, so might as well make the efforts worth it by treating herself to some nice and pricy liquor.
Be bored in style.
At the other end of the pub sat a smirking Harry, watching the exchange between the two friends at the bar with a new found humour. He definitely wasn't as fanatic about football as his mates, so he found Nina's little joke absolutely hilarious.
Initially he was a little annoyed when Nina showed up. It meant she had lied earlier during the day. But once he saw the bored look on her face, he knew she wasn't here by her own will. Harry decided he had had enough of football. He excused himself and went off to join Nina in her temporary misery.
"Thought you were too tired to go out tonight?" Harry asked her with a smirk on his handsome face. Nina didn't turn around, she knew exactly who was talking to her.
"I am. I'm trying really hard not to fall asleep." She responded. Harry chuckled at her comment.
"Were you forced to come and watch then?" He saw her nod and take another sip of her drink.
"For moral support."
"That's the worst reason." Harry laughed a little louder now, fully understanding why she looked so miserable.
"Anyway, how about that drink, hmm?" He asked, hoping she wouldn't refuse this time.
"I've got one, thanks." The girl said while raising her half empty drink. Harry's hope came crashing down once again. However he was impressed with her choice of drink.
"Whiskey. That's brave." He stated, feeling the need to stay put. Nina finally turned and faced him. He wasn't wearing the same clothes as he was back in class. It surprised her that one, he bothered to change clothes at all. And two, that she had actually noticed such a petty detail.
He wore black skinny jeans, which made his legs to die for, and a purple polka dotted and practically unbuttoned shirt. His boots, however, were still the same; it wasn't easy to miss such detail since they were almost replicas of her own boots adorning her feet.
"For a girl, you mean?" Nina asked with a sly smile on her face. She hadn't missed Harry's eyes wondering up and down her body.
"Even for a guy. That drink says a lot about someone's personality." Harry momentarily decided it was time after five years to start the charming act.
"Does it really? I had no clue." She said in a surprised and cute tone. Harry smiled and nodded.
"In-di-vi-du-al-ity." He articulated slowly, making his point come across. He knew this was something Nina was very sensitive to. It was something which was never going to change.
"You got me there, Styles." She winked at him.
The way she said his name, even if it was only his last name, in combination with that bloody wink, made Harry imagine things he really shouldn't. He pointed at the empty chair next to hers and she nodded at his unspoken question. He sat himself down and ordered a Whiskey Sour.
"Whiskey Sour?" She asked while cocking her head to the side.
"For moral support." He said whilst waiting for his drink. Nina laughed, a sexy, husky sound invading Harry's ears. Once Harry had his drink, he turned on his chair and lifted it up to meet Nina's glass along the way.
"Cheers." Nina said, feeling slightly weary of Harry's intentions.
"And this is how it starts..." He said. She didn't miss the quote of the song, playing in the background. It was a smooth move, she had to admit. Luckily she could see right through his game. But why the sudden interest?
"Why the song?" Nina asked.
"It just fits." He shrugged while taking a sip from his drink, never dropping the eye contact.
"What does?" Nina couldn't follow his train of thoughts.
"This. Us. The title of the song." He wickedly wobbled his brows. But Nina's mind was a mess, she didn't understand what he was saying. It frustrated her to no point.
"I-I don't u-underst...oh." She nodded and Harry started laughing with his head tilted back while everyone around him cheered at Chelsea scoring another goal. He found her awkward state completely endearing.
"Don't even think about it." She shook her head with a smile.
"About Sex?" He asked looking all innocent and sweet.
"We're not having it." Nina stated while pointing at the two of them.
"I wasn't talking about tonight, but..." Harry said with a chuckle, making sure Nina understood it as a joke.
"Not ever." Nina deadpanned, once again.
"Hey, I was just taking the piss." He said with his two hands lifted up in mock defence. She looked him in the eyes, searching for his true intentions.
She bit her bottom lip whilst thinking his words through. Harry couldn't look away, being completely captivated by this sexy woman in front of him. After a long silence, Nina came a little closer and spoke with a smile on her face, yet a subtle warning to her tone and a faint shake of her head.
"I wasn't."
___________
Hello everyone!
Thanks for reading this first real chapter. I hope you liked it and you're excited for more.
Please vote and comment. And please stay tuned for the next chapter that will probably be posted in a week or two.
Until the next one!
Lots of Love (I can say it again. Whoop)
Laetitia.
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